Cathode-ray beam deflection circuit



May 10, 1949. 2,469,895

a. F. ROGERS CATHODE-RAY BEAM DEFLECI'ION CIRCUIT Filed Feb. 12, 1947 52 .H' LIE-H 32 34 pm? /NPl/T 50 42 TRIGGER 52 .52 52 1: B-' 21/1355 70 :H H n H (a) 1;; is l'l/Bffl VOLMGEON (F/GJ) sow/r0;

7 PHASE CURRENT THROUGH mum; a Puma-26 INV-ENTOR. I GORDON F. ROGERS ATTORNEY cums/v7 4 THROUGH was 28-30 '1' BY ro co/zs,

Patented May It), 1949 a so F l C E CATHODE-RAY BEAM DEFLECTION CIRCUIT Gordon F. Rogers, New Hyde Park, N. Y., assignor to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to cathode ray beam. deflection circuits, and more particularly relates to means for so deflecting the electron beam of a cathode ray tube as to produce on the screen of the tube a trace of either circular or spiral configuration.

The most frequently used time base sweep employed in cathode ray tube applications consists of a linear trace which is obtained by causing a sawtooth wave of current to flow through a pair of electro-magnetic deflection coils, in the case of magnetically-deflected cathode ray tubes, or by applying to a set of deflection plates, in the case of electrostatically-deflected tubes, a voltage variation of sawtooth waveform. The length of such a linear trace, however, is obviously limited to the diameter of the tube screen.

It is occasionally desirable to increase the length of such a time base sweep in order to permit greater accuracy in estimating the position of an indication thereon. This is particularly true in systems where a measurement of elapsed time is desired. For such purposes, it has been customary to deflect the tube scanning beam so that the pattern traced on the screen is of circular, or spiral, configuration. The latter, in particular, provides a time base on which very precise readings may be taken.

One reason why the advantages of a spiral sweep have not resulted in its more general use is that additional circuit components are necessary to produce the desired deflection voltages or currents. In the case of electrostatically deflected tubes, for example, the voltages applied to the two sets of deflection plates must be of similar sine wave shape and must, in addition, have a phase diiierence of 90. These sine wave voltages are usually obtained from push-pull amplifiers whose gain is controlled by the application of a sawtooth voltage the frequency of which is a submultiple of the sine wave voltages. In this manner the amplitude of each of the sine wave voltages is increased (or decreased) continuously during a number of sine wave cycles, so that the trace-forming spot on the screen of the cathode ray tube in effect rotates on a circle of ever-increasing (or decreasing) diameter. A circuit of this nature must be very stable in operation, however, since if the linear increase in sweep voltage amplitude does not start at exactly the same point in the circular sweep, then each spiral will not coincide with the previous one. Furthermore, if the frequency of the sawtooth voltage is not an exact sub-multiple of the frequency of the sine waves, then the spiral will revolve so to produce a pin wheel pattern. Still further, relatively high input voltages are necessary in order to obtain sufiicient deflection amplitude.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a simplified circuit for producing :either a circular or a spiral trace on the screen 2 of a cathode ray tube. In a preferred embodiment, a cathode ray tube is utilized having one set of electro-magnetic deflection coils for deflecting the cathode ray scanning beam in one direction, and also one set of electrostatic deflection plates for deflecting the beam another direction perof the coils, forms a parallel tuned, or resonant,

circuit. When this resonant circuit is energized by some method such as shock-excitation, oscillations will be produced, and the amplitude of these oscillations will decline in value exponentially. If the shock-excitation consists of a series of relatively narrow pulses, each pulse of the series will serve to initiate a new oscillatory cycle, while the Q of the deflection coils will determine the rate of exponential decay of the oscillations. The oscillation frequency, of course, depends upon the resonant frequency of the coilpiate circuit. If the capacity provided by the two deflection plates of the cathod ray tube is insuflicient to cause the circuit to be resonant as a desired frequency, then an external capacitor may be added in parallel with the deflection plates.

The voltage across the pair of deflection coils reaches a maximum value at the point in each oscillatory cycle when the current through the deflection coils is zero. Since the deflection plates are respectively connected directlyto the ends of the set of deflection coils, the deflection voltage on the plates is at a maximum when the deflection field produced by the current flow through the coils is at a minimum. Conversely, the voltage on the plates is substantially zero when the current flow through the coils is at peak value. These conditions, together with the abovementioned exponential decay in the amplitude of the oscillations between successive time periods when the circuit is shoclnexcited, are such that a spiral sweep or scan will be produced on the luminescent screen or target area of the cathode ray tube.

An arrangement of the type described above may also be employed to generate a circular instead of a spiral trace. This may be brought about by supplying current of sine Wave shape to'the coil-plate circuit instead of relatively sharp pulses, the latter acting to control the production of aspiral sweep in the manner set forth above.

One object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide an improved circuit for so deflecting the electron scanning beam of a cathode ray tube as to produce on the screen of the tube a. trace 'of either circular or spiral configuration.

Another objectof the invention is to provide a cathode ray tube having one set of electro- II I I I I I I I I I magnetic "deflection coils .ancl onecsetiofi electro- I I I I I I I static: deflec ingmatesand :tozso: connect these.

i i elements that the. inductance of I the coils, f to;

I gether with the capacity: of the plates; forms I resonant: circuit: which. is

I I tivelyenergizedIh I I I 1 Fig.1 isa schematic: representation of a :pre- I I I fer-red form. of the. present; invention; I I I :':zkr Figuii isaiset I I I i operation =of thescircuits-of Figs.- 158116.22. r i I I I I I be of: a conventional type. and; whichincludes I I from the following descriptiomofca preferred I 'i i I I I i of the invention: andlfrom'thevdrawings;inwhic the: I 1

I I I I I15. Referring first to Fig, 1t,.ther'e is. illustrated. a

f I cathode ray image-reproducingtube;, generallyins dicated by the i reierencenumerat E85; Tube I0 I I II includes: an; electron .gun. structure: which. may I 2 I aI hejater element 12; a cathode. i4;:a;.grid 16; and: I I s enact. a series. of pulses IIEZi Ithereto; tube 32. con--:

' i I I asfirstanode. as. Tube it. isI-aiso-wprcvided wane I I a I endof itube cl-ll from the .electron gun.. It :is, oi:

7 Tune: isialso'-presided-with?rrieansion:de-I I fiectingI the electron: beam which isproduced: and

: I tron scanning heam of tube lfl-I sothat the; scan ning beam will traverse the screen. 22 in substantially a single plane.

Tube IO is-also provided with: apair. of electro-magneticdeflectingcoils 28-and 3|], respectivelm Coils 28 and 3ilareadapted, whensuitably energized by a flow ofcurrent therethrough, to 'defiect the electron scanning beam of. tube I'll across the screen 2% in a direction whichls perpendicular to the direction ofdeflectionproduced by the application of suitable potentials to the 'defiecting plates 24 and 26.

Defie'ctingplate 24 is connected as illustrated t'o oner end .of the deflecting coil 28; Similarly, plate 261 is connectedtoi one end. of. the deflecting coilisil The remaining ends oi the-coils28 and were joined together in thausualmanner; as shown-inthe drawing. It willthus be seen that the deflecting plates 2tand ZBare-soconnected toztha deiie'ctingcoils. 28s and 3ll=that the capacitance between the plates 24, 26, togethenwith thekinductanceof the coi1s"28, 30, forms atuned, or resonant, c circuit;

This tuned, or resonant; I circuit: formed by. the elements 24,.26; 28 and-3ll is connected? inrthe anode cathode circuit of an: electron discharge device 32,.the anode- 34- ofI tube 32 being connected to. the electrical .junction pointH36I-oi the plate 26 and coil 39. The electrical junctionpoint 38 of plate 24- and coil'28; is1connected by meansxofr a lead .403" to sther. positive terminal of 'a suitable: source of:.operatings'potentiah (not shown) fbr'! tube 32. The cathode. .of tube .32 is connected to-grlound and alsorto the negative terminal or thewabove mentionedlsourcea of; oper- I ating potential. I

I I accelerated in themanner'above described j This I I I :iri'eans: comprises.- in pairt a I'pair of electrostatic 1 II i I I I defiecting plates M andIZE respectively; I Plates- I II I 2* and ;26% areiadapted, uponIth'e application of: I I 1 I i I suitable potentials -the'retc; to deflect ithe' elec I so I I seeond I anode :2D ,I so I thatzthe electronswhich I I I I emanate from. the-cathode. iii may be; accelerated II I I I hyizthie'iirstwanodes iil wand thel second: anodetfl: I I toward Ia Iscreen Iorqtarget arearfl I at. the opposite I ,adaptedtobe selec tanlr circuit;may beset into oscillation-by sup-; I I I Iphing'surgesofielectronstheretoiirom tube 32,."

ithese. surges of electrons. providing surges of: I I I I I energywhicnzcan'oscillate between the eiectro -I I I 'i staticzfieidiprnciucedby the plateszflfit andthe: I electromagneticfield'produced bythe coils- 28. 30; I I I I I lnFigr-h oscillations'are setup inthe deflect- 1 1 in effect as :a. switch which acts to: suddenly change the. amount of energy, in the.resonantici1':-' i I I II I I cult: Thissisxacecmplished byso' biasing the grid I I sofas-tube. 32.3w. means. such as the i battery dil: I i I i that: tube-32. is normally out ofi in the absence I I I 1 of ia positive: central.variationapplied to the in I I i I I put terminal .50. When the gridzfiiamade less negativeghowever, :such .asIIby-I the application of ciucts and a pulse of. energy is supplied to :the

deflecting. .coileplate circuit of the cathode ray: tube I'I ZIii Which I'Ii's. efiectiv'eatoin itiate oscillations I I i in this.circuit I Ittherepetitionfrequency; the I I pulsesetz is: relatively low compared .to the: res- 1 I I I I I course; assumed thatIthe' various elements I-2,; 14,. l I onantzfreq'uency ofsthe deflecting. coihplate cir' -I I rtemid, Zt IareIproVided with suitable operating I potentials from source or; sources :wliichnave- 1 .not'beemshownin. order to simplifythe drawf- I II I I I II I I II I I off:and.thattheresis;..no:energy:inthedefiecting' 1B."iThelicurrent cuitl then the oscillators/ aCtiOHQQf-thG circuitiwilli I I betas;shownxincunvesa; bxandcoffiig; 3.1: I I I I I ILet. 'itYflrs't be assumednthatz tube .325 .is cut Coll giate: circuit I of tube through: the coils island at is; therefore, zen

of Etime. equal; to. the duration or the; pulse 5 2.

magnetic field is madestronger. and the energy stored'in the magneticfield increases. When the current. thr0ugh.coi1sl28 and 30 is stopped at the end 'of the pulse 52,.the collapsing magnetic field induces a voltage across the c0i1s .'28 and 3D. Thisvoltage. appears onplates 24.and.26, so that the energy. in themagneticfield surrounding coils 2B1andfl3'0. isnow transferred to the deflecting plates land 26.

The=charge -onthese plates increases until the magnetic fieldsurrounding coils .28 and 30. has collapsed to zero. Atthis time, the energy on plates land .26 begins to discharge through the coils.28. .and 30+ and. the magnetic field. around these Icoilsbeginsto increase in .theopposite direction. Thus, thesurge of energy which was in troducedi. into the. deflecting coil-plate circuit from. .tube -32 .-oscillatesl between the plates 24, 26 and. thecoils 28;, 3fl. This oscillation continues until all. of. the energy introduced into the circuit has-been dissipated. inIthe coil-plate Icircult losses; The oscillatory action of the defleeting:coil plate circuit of' the cathode ray tube Ill-is illustrated by the Icurves b and c in .Fig. 3. Imthisdatter figure, the pulses-52 applied to the griduABv of tube 32 are illustrated in curve a. Pulses similar to these pulses 52. constitute the output ottubett which actstoxshock-excite the coil-plate circuit of tube 1 0. This I shock-excitation I produces, in the :manner I above described: a voltage; onxitheI- lanes124,12t such: as represented by curve The- I current through, coils. I 28-, -30, onvthezother hand, is. representedvasscurve c in Fig.1 3:. Curves .li. andzc are .90? outof phase; since the. Voltages on. plates: 24, 2 6 is: atxawmaximum When one of .the. positivepulses 52 is app-lied t I the; grid. Minot; tube: 32,. current flowsin tube 32 and'al'so through the. EGHSLZB and 30: for a length i: f I f Fig. :2 isamodification' ofthe representationoi I iingcoil plate circuit of the cathode ray tubeiilw I,

I I I I ,1; and: II I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I byrcausingztheelectron dischargedevice 3-2 to act- ITnis currentIsetSnp aImagnetic field: around the I I I I II coil's :28; and. 30; I :As.:the Icurrentaincreases; the I I when the current through coils 28, 39 is zero, and, conversely, the voltage on plates 24, 26 is substantially zero when a maximum current is flowing through the coils.

The amplitude of the oscillations in curves 2) and c declines exponentially as shown due to the losses of energy in the deflection coils and plates. These losses, or, in other words, the Q of the circuit, determine the rate at which the energy will be dissipated. As previously stated, the fact that the oscillatory voltage on plates 24, 26 is 90 out-of-phase with the oscillatory current through coils 28 and 3!] would normally produce a circular trace on the screen 22 of tube it, if the amplitude of the oscillations remained constant between the time periods during which successive trigger pulses from the tube 32 are applied to the deflecting coil-plate circuit of tube it. However, due to the fact that these oscillations decline exponentially in value between successive pulses from tube 32, the trace produced on the screen 22 is of spiral configuration. The losses of the deflecting coil-plate circuit, of course, determine the distance between each convolution of the spiral trace.

If the output impedance of tube 32 is relatively high, the field around the coils 28 and 30 will not be set up immediately, and a partial outgoing spiral may be obtained which will conflict with the incoming spiral produced by the currents and voltage shown in curves b and 0. Since it is usually desirable to eliminate the portion of the sweep produced by this outgoing spiral, the oathode ray beam produced by the electron gun of tube It may be blanked during the time interval of the outgoing spiral by some such means as by the application of a negative blanking potential to the grid I6.

In the event that it is desired to produce a trace of circular configuration on screen 22 instead of the spiral scan produced by the circuit of Fig. 1 in the manner above described, an arrangement such as shown in Fig. 2 may be employed. In Fig. 2, the electron discharge device 32 is biased to act as a substantially linear or class A amplifier, and a voltage variation 54 of substantially sine wave configuration is applied to the input terminal 50. The output of tube 32, therefore, is also a sine wave. To increase the output of the tube the resonant frequency of the coil-plate circuit may be made equal to the sine Wave input 54 frequency, or vice versa. In any case the current flowing through the deflecting coils 28, 80 will be 90 out of p ase with the deflection plate voltage of curve d, as shown in curve c. This condition, as previously stated, will produce a circular trace on the screen 22. It is recognized, however, that for a given coil inductance, coil position, and plate capacity, and a given set of potentials supplied to cathode ray tube It, there is only one frequency at which the relative amplitudes of the voltage across the plates and the current through the coils will be correct to produce a circular trace, provided that the coil and plates are so designed as to give equal deflections to the beam in each direction. If they are not so designed the trace becomes elliptical.

In the event that the capacitance between the plates 24 and 26 is insufficient to permit the deflecting coil-plate circuit to be resonant at a desired frequency, it is possible to add an external capacitor 56 (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1) in parallel with the capacitance provided by the plates 24, 2B. The value of this external capacitor 56 may be so chosen as to permit any desired frequency of resonance Within the limits determined by the remaining components of the circuit.

It may be necessary or desirable to adjust the relative amplitude of deflection of the electron scanning beam of tube it produced by the electrostatic and electromagnetic fields. One convenient way of accomplishing this is to adjust the position of the coils 23 and 38, such as by sliding these coils along the neck of the cathode ray tube Ill.

I claim:

1. In combination, a cathode ray tube having contained therein a pair of electrostatic members adapted to deflect a cathode ray beam in one direction, a pair of electromagnetic coils associated with said tube and adapted to deflect the cathode ray beam in a perpendicular direction, connections between said members and coils to provide a resonant circuit of which the capacitive element is provided by the electrostatic beam deflecting members and the inductive element is provided by the electromagnetic beam deflecting coils, and a source of control pulses connected to develop damped oscillations within said resonant circuit, the rate of damping thereof being so related to the pulse frequency that the oscillations decrease from maximum to substantially zero between two consecutive pulses, thereby providing a spiral trace for said beam covering a circular area.

2. A deflection circuit for a cathode ray beam comprising, a coil for deflecting said beam in one direction, a pair of plates for deflecting said beam in a substantially perpendicular direction, said plates being connected across said coil and forming a resonant circuit the constants of which are such as to produce damped oscillations, and a source of pulses connected to said resonant circuit to energize it periodically, the periods between successive pulses being substantially equal to the decay time of said resonant circuit, whereby said beam develops a series of spiral traces.

3. In a system in which the electron scanning beam of a cathode ray tube is deflected, the combination of a pair of electrostatic deflecting plates within said cathode ray tube, a pair of electromagnetic deflecting coils exterior of said tube, means for so connecting said pair of plates and said pair of coils that the electrical capacity between said plates together with the electrical inductance of said coils forms a damped resonant circuit, and means for periodically applying pulses of energy to shock-excite said circuit, the frequency of said pulses being a small fraction of the free oscillation frequency of said damped resonant circuit.

4. A system according to claim 3, further comprising a capacitor, and means for connecting said capacitor into said resonant circuit in parallel with said pair of electrostatic deflecting plates.

GORDON F. ROGERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,139,432 Andrieu Dec. 6, 1938 2,228,266 Gray Jan. 14, 1941 2,244,003 Eaglesfleld June 3, 1941 

